Concrete steps for EU-ACP co-operation on eve of European Year for Development 2015

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) held its 27th meeting with the economic and social interest groups of the ACP and EU countries in Brussels from 29-31 October. EESC President Henri Malosse welcomed almost 200 participants, among whom numbered Secretary-General of the ACP Secretariat H.E. Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni and General Director Development Cooperation at the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs Giampaolo Cantini, who participated on behalf of the Italian Presidency.

• EU-ACP co-operation should be brought back to centre stage.
• EPAs can be a tool for regional integration but only if sustainable development and civil society involvement are guaranteed.
• Poverty eradication needs sustainable solutions and people's involvement.
• Family farming: the right way to achieve sustainable cultivation, food security and women's empowerment.
• The private sector is also a player in development co-operation.
• Social protection systems: a human right and a key to social cohesion.

EPAs: A tool for regional integration but only if sustainable development and civil society involvement are guaranteed

The EESC and ACP civil society groups called for a systematic inclusion of a Sustainable Development Chapter, and especially to involve civil society in every phase of the negotiations and implementation of the agreements. In this regard, the EESC welcomes the recent setting-up of the Cariforum-EU Consultative Committee. "EPAs are an important step towards further development, but they will be useless unless they are firmed up with further political steps, such as providing a business friendly framework, fostering intra-African trade, and supporting an effective regional integration at all levels," said Brenda King, EESC member and chair of the session on EPAs.

Poverty eradication needs sustainable solutions and people's involvement

Participants fully support the global efforts to establish an ambitious Post-2015 framework to eradicate global poverty and to achieve a sustainable development model integrating social justice, economic stability and the protection of the environment. The outcome of the UN Open Working Group with its comprehensive set of 17 SDGs[1], and the values underlying these, was warmly welcomed. Participants stressed that further negotiations, implementation and evaluation of SDGs will require the strong and active participation of non-state actors at local, national, European and international levels. "Progress which is not based on sustainability and does not involve the people concerned, is like a flashlight doomed to go out," said Xavier Verboven, chair of the ACP-EU Follow-up Committee at the EESC.

Family farming: The right way to achieve sustainable cultivation, food security and women's empowerment

Participants agreed that family farming can contribute not only to food security but also to creation of jobs. Smallholder farmers – most of whom are women - tend to work with the nature, they care for biodiversity and thus support the fight against soil erosion. Conference participants encourage family farmers in ACP countries to organize themselves via associations and cooperatives, to be able to have their voice heard by policy makers, and ask the EU to further support them via capacity building programmes. They also warned about land grabbing, a phenomenon which may lead to a reduction in jobs, biodiversity and food security.  

The private sector is also an actor in development cooperation

Conference participants strongly encourage the business sector to develop innovative activities that will contribute to sustainable development and stress that corporate social responsibility, the promotion of fair trade certification and the development of micro-finance are instruments that should be further promoted within EU development policy and in the framework of the SDGs. Furthermore, it was felt that the EU's efforts to devote more of its development aid to support private sector development in ACP countries should not come at the expense of aid to the poorest countries. Lastly, the ACP-EU civil society representatives propose reducing to less than 3% the transaction costs of migrant remittances, which remain a major source of revenue for many families and businesses in developing countries.

Social protection systems: A human right and a key to social cohesion

Participants stressed that the development of such systems is not a luxury reserved for developed countries, but a human right and a means of securing national solidarity, decent work, fewer inequalities, more demand and increased overall social cohesion and inclusive development. They welcomed the high importance given to promoting social protection systems in the Outcome document of the Open Working Group on SDGs at UN level.

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